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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181525">KotLC Oneshots</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Three_Gulons_In_A_Trenchcoat/pseuds/Three_Gulons_In_A_Trenchcoat'>Three_Gulons_In_A_Trenchcoat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AJR, Cuddles, F/F, F/M, First Meeting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kam - Freeform, Keefitz - Freeform, Kesline, M/M, SOMFT, Sophiana, also they dance in the kitchen, i love them, kesler is a big ole flirt, platonic sotam, slight angst, sophie and fitz bake sugar cookies, sophie and keefe get locked in a supply closet, they listen to human music, this will be updated - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:47:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,494</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181525</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Three_Gulons_In_A_Trenchcoat/pseuds/Three_Gulons_In_A_Trenchcoat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of KotLC Oneshots from my Tumblr! These were based on prompts or just random drabbles. This will be updated as I write more prompts. Enjoy :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Juline Dizznee/Kesler Dizznee, Keefe Sencen/Fitz Vacker, Keefe Sencen/Tam Song, Marella Redek/Linh Song, Sophie Foster/Biana Vacker, Sophie Foster/Fitz Vacker, Sophie Foster/Keefe Sencen, Sophie Foster/Tam Song</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Dragon and Tiger (Kam)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>"graffiti AU, Kam, need i say more &gt;:)"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>It was around midnight that Keefe Sencen heard a sharp knock on his window. He dropped his phone to his chest, craning his head towards the second story window. The beige curtain waved lazily in the night breeze fanning through the slightly ajar window as a gloved hand pushed it the rest of the way open.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe grinned as a familiar head of silver and black hair poked its way through the opening.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam Song glanced up at him, a black beanie sat on top of his flat hair, his pale blue eyes darting around the room as Keefe made his way over to him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He crouched down so he was level with Tam, cocking his head as Tams lips curled in a snarl, “ Need some help?” he asked innocently, reaching behind the boy's head.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam grunted as Keefe pulled the window the rest of the way open, falling to the floor with a less than graceful thump.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You could have at least caught me” Tam grumbled, pulling himself up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe smirked, examining the boy as he adjusted his beanie, “So what's the plan tonight Bangs Boy?” he asked.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam glared at him as he stood up, crawling back through the window and picking up a black gym bag hidden in the shadows of the shingled roof,“ I’ll tell you when we get out here, just change your shirt into something darker and put on some shoes.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe frowned, glancing down at his loose white shirt and bare feet, “Whatever you say” he said, shrugging off his shirt and rummaging through his dresser for a darker option. He didn’t miss the way Tam gave him a one-over before averting his eyes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Once Keefe had changed into more “appropriate attire” as Tam had stated, which Keefe had simply rolled his eyes at, the two boys made their way out of the Sencen household, and onto the empty streets.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“…Soo- you never answered my question earlier,” Keefe said, glancing at Tam, who carried the gym bag on one shoulder, his other shoved in the pocket of his black hoodie.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam shrugged the bag off of his shoulder, undoing the zipper and shoving the contents at Keefe.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Spray-paint.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe grinned, his pearl-white teeth flashing in the night. Tam gulped.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“ooh Bangs Boy, you really outdid yourself this time.” Keefe made an attempt to grab the bag from the smaller boy’s clutches but came up dry when Tam snatched it away.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Not yet,” Tam warned.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe pouted, his ice-blue eyes sparkling, “ Why nottt?” he whined, and Tam rolled his eyes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Because the last time I gave you spray-paint we almost got caught.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe huffed, crossing his arms, “That was only one time” he grumbled.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A smile graced across Tam's face, a rare sight, and yet, Keefe Sencen always seemed to draw that out of him, especially when he was pouty.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Were almost here anyways, you can have your precious paint soon Mr. Pouty”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe cheered, and Tam shushed him, but smiles stayed on both of the boys’ faces the entire time, even if they both tried desperately to hide them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>_______________________________</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The smell of paint fumes filled the air as Keefe shook another can of spray-paint, dusting the side of the wall with a pale shade of yellow.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam leaned against the part of the wall untouched by Keefe’s hands. He breathed out a puff of air, watching it cool and drift away into the night.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You almost done?” Tam asked, dragging his gaze up to his blonde comrade. Tam had never had an eye for art, so when they went on escapades like this, he normally let Keefe take care of it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe wiped the sweat off of his forehead, sweeping his hair back and biting his lip as he leaned back to examine his artwork, nearly making Tam choke on air.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He covered it up with a cough as Keefe looked over his direction.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe snickered, motioning with his hand for Tam to come over,” Yeah, I just added the finishing touches, comere and check it out.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam pushed off of the wall, dragging his eyes up towards the wall as he stood next to Keefe.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His breath caught in his throat.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He had known Keefe was an amazing artist, he had seen enough of the boys doodles in class to know that. But this? This was <em>insane.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In front of him stood a tiger and a dragon circling each other in the dead of night. both held fighting stances, both had their ears drawn back, with claws out and ready to fight. The tiger had its teeth bared in a snarl. But the dragon <em>didn’t.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Its teeth weren’t bared, sure its claws were, but it looked at the tiger with amusement instead of rage. It nagged in the back of Tams’ head, reminding him of someone.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe stared at Tam as the boy took in his artwork, a small smile gracing his features.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s us,” Keefe said, finally breaking the silence.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam glanced at Keefe, he was facing Tam directly now, his eyes and posture reflected the dragon perfectly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam snarled. Just like the tiger.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Tiger and Dragon” Keefe mused, taking his hands out of his pockets.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“They are supposed to be mortal enemies,” Keefe continued,” But I think they are simply misunderstood.” Keefe reached out, softly grasping Tam’s face in his palm.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam inhaled sharply as Keefe cradled his cheek. His throat felt dry and his silence seemed to make Keefe more confident.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe leaned closer, his lips a millimeter away from Tams, both of their eyes lidded</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Can I kiss you?” Keefe breathed, his breath fanning Tam’s face.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam didn’t answer, just surged forward, capturing Keefe’s lips in his.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe made a pleased noise in the back of his throat as his hands shot out to steady the both of them. Tam’s fingers grasped the back of Keefe’s head, pulling him closer to him. He needed to be closers, impossibly closer to this boy.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They kissed for what felt like an eternity. It wasn’t until both of their lungs began to burn did they finally break apart, clinging to each other as the sun began to rise.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Keefe’s, breathing heavily.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They opened their eyes at the same time the sun rose, painting the dark of their eyelids a deep red.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe giggled, a snort making its way out of his nose before he could cover it up, looking up at Tam with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment. Tam snickered at the way Keefe looked at him, and before both of the boys knew it, they were both on the ground, giggling and laughing over nothing and everything. Tears gathered in the corners of both of their eyes as they leaned against each other for support, unable to keep the smiles off of their faces, now no longer desperately to hide them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Dragon and Tiger</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Yin and Yang</em>
  </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Before Dawn and After Dusk (Kam)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Somft kam but it’s night time and they’re friends but they’re both in love with each other"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[Note: i’m really sorry about the way the texting part of the story looks! Tumblr and Ao3 are both being very weird about it.]</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Why weren’t you at school earlier?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Keefe?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Answer me</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Where are you rn?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     read 12:32 am</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam growled under his breath as he paced his room. He had tried to call the blonde earlier, but it had gone straight to voicemail. He tried again, pressing the green call button and hearing it ring.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It rang five times before someone picked up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey.” Keefe sounded <em>exhausted.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Where the hell are you?” Tam asked frantically,“ Why weren’t you at school earlier? I called you six times Keefe! You better tell me what the hell is going on or-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Beep</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What the fuck?” Tam snarled, “He hung up on me?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He checked his phone again only to see an unread message.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“He sent me a location?” Tam mumbled, copying the link and plugging it into google maps.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The location was only about a five-minute walk from his house, and Tam frowned. <em>why would he send a location to him?</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe had sounded really upset on the phone, granted he only said ‘hey’ but Tam had been his friend for long enough to be able to dissect the meaning behind the boy's tone of voice.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam’s stomach churned with worry as he slipped his sneakers on and threw on a black hoodie.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He slipped out of his room as silently as possible, keeping his footsteps as light as he could as he trotted downstairs. He froze when he saw someone in the kitchen, but relaxed when he saw who it was.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Linh yawned, glancing at him and jumping slightly as she took in his form.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Tam?” she whispered, cocking her head,“ What are you doing up-” her eyes narrowed as she put it together, and her mouth ticked up in a faint smile, “are you visiting <em>him</em>?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam flushed, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked at the tile floor.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah,” he said eventually, “But it's not what you think it is” he added quickly when his sister's eyes flashed with amusement.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Keefe wasn’t at school today, so I was worried, and he only just called me back so I'm going to go see him, but he's at a park or something because he sent me his location and-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He paused when he felt a hand tug his arm out of his hoodie pocket.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Linh grasped his hand in hers, smiling softly, her gray-blue eyes crinkling slightly at the corners, “You don’t have to tell me all that,” she said softly, “I know you worry about him, so I’ll cover for you until you get back okay?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam nodded silently, and Linh giggled slightly when he pulled her into a hug.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Thanks” he mumbled, “you didn't have to do this”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Of course I do” Linh retorted, “I’m your sister after all” She pulled away from the hug and patted his arm, beginning to ascend up the stairs again.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She looked behind her shoulder, “just be careful okay?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam smiled softly, “I will.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>_________________________________</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam reached the park in about half the time google maps had predicted, granted, he had been running at top speed to reach Keefe, but that was beside the point.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He hopped the park fence easily, years of sneaking out of his parent's house had taught him to be agile, and braced his hands on his knees, panting into the grass.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Once he had caught his breath, he looked around. The park was basic, with a brightly colored playground sitting in the middle of the grounds. A sandbox sat in the corner, and Tam narrowed his eyes at a figure laying spread-eagle across the sand, staring at the sky.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Before he knew it, he was booking it across the park, straight towards the figure, who he hoped to god was Keefe, otherwise, this was about to get real awkward.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The figure sat up, his ice-blue eyes flashing with alarm and confusion as Tam launched himself at them. Tam engulfed Keefe in a hug as the boy struggled to right himself.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Dumbass,” Tam growled, hugging Keefe tighter than necessary.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe coughed, and Tam realized that he should probably let the boy breathe. He leaned back to examine Keefe's face as the boy wheezed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Jeez Bangs Boy, you really know how to knock the wind out of someone” Keefe managed, blinking in surprise and something else that Tam just couldn't put his finger on.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Whatever” Tam grumbled, his face flaming slightly when he realized the position they were in. Tam practically sat in Keefe’s lap. He thought his face couldn’t get any redder, at least until Keefe grinned.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam cleared his throat, hurrying to change the subject before it was even brought up, “You made me nervous idiot, you wouldn't pick up my calls. And when you finally did, you hung up on me!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe looked away, his signature smirk falling, and Tam missed it already.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah..” he said, and Tam had to strain to hear his voice.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah what?” Tam said softly, his usual harsh nature forgotten</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe cleared his throat, “It was um… it was my dad” he managed, looking away and blinking hard.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam fought down the rage bubbling in his stomach. He had met his father and hated him immediately. In fact, his father and Keefe’s would probably get along well together, they were practically the same person.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Instead, he did something that surprise even himself.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m sorry” Tam mumbled, pulling Keefe back into his arms and squeezing tight. After a few moments, Keefe returned the hug, his grip loose.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They pulled back after a moment, and Tam looked down at the boy's chest, unable to bring himself to look Keefe in the eyes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam nearly choked when he felt Keefe's fingers on his hips, drawing slow circles. He was about to say something when Keefe opened his mouth again.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“We got into another argument,” Keefe said quietly, “I was really angry, so… I left. I only intended to be gone for a couple of hours, but I guess I lost track of time.” He stopped rubbing circles on Tam's waist, seeming to only now realize what he was doing.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His eyes widened and a faint blush spread to his cheeks, “Sorry um- I shouldn't have-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“No,” Tam said firmly, stopping Keefe in his tracks as the boy tried to shuffle out from underneath Tam's legs, “It’s fine. Plus it felt nice,” he said the last part quieter, but Keefe still heard him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Ok then,” Keefe said, shuffling back to his spot, “Uh..” he trailed off, not seeming to know what to do with his hands.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Idiot” Tam mumbled, grabbing Keefe's hands and placing them on his waist again, to be fair, Tam was also blushing like a madman, but that was beside the point. He leaned forward, pressing his nose into Keefe's neck, and he heard Keefe's sharp inhale of breath, which only made him grin.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>After a moment, Keefe relaxed against him, starting to draw against Tam’s skin again, and Tam fought his hardest not to shiver.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m glad your with me tonight,” Keefe said after a while, making Tam jump slightly from the vibrations against his ear.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah” Tam replied after a second, “I’m glad I’m here with you too.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They both seemed to lose track of time, and Tam only noticed how long they had been out when Keefe's fingers stopped, and his head dropped further onto Tam's shoulder.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam stifled a yawn, struggling to not fall asleep. He wanted to wake Keefe up and make him sleep in a more comfortable position, <em>but</em> he also didn’t want this moment to end.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>After a couple more minutes of debating in his head, Tam felt his eyelids grow heavy. He stifled another yawn as he nuzzled into Keefe's neck, finally letting sleep come to him.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sweets and Cuddles (Keefitz)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"okokok it's keefitz and fitz enlists his boyfriend to help him eat the surplus of sweets he made within the week and keefe ends up eating himself onto the couch and fitz is so happy that he liked them that he has to smile through the tiredness"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[Note: sorry its a bit short, also the ending is probably pretty bad lol, I'm not that amazing at writing, so sorry about that heh]</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>“You want me to come over?” Keefe asked, staring at his boyfriend's face reflecting back at him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz rubbed the back of his head, an embarrassed grin emerging on his handsome features, “Yeah, I um sorta…baked to many sweets?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe smirked, his eyes lighting up with delight, “Well Fitzy, you should have just started with that! I’ll be over in five.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz laughed, making Keefe’s heart flip in his chest, “See you soon.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>____________________________</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You made all of this <em>today</em>?!” Keefe asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He had leaped over to Everglen, expecting there to be a couple of platters of sweets sitting on the island, but was instead met with an entire buffet of treats waiting to be consumed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz’s eyes widened, “Of course not! This is about a week's worth of baking.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe laughed, “I’m just surprised you were able to keep all of this hidden from Biana.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz sighed,“ Yeah, I’m surprised too, it definitely was a feat, luckily though, she's out shopping with Sophie right now, so they should be gone for the rest of the day.” Keefe detected some exhaustion in the brunettes sigh, but he decided to bring that up later.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe rubbed his hands together as he shot Fitz a playful grin, “Well then, how about we make this a friendly competition Fitzy, whoever can eat the most sweets wins!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz smirked, and Keefe could see a competitive flame flicker in his teal eyes, making his heart race, “Oh you are<em> so</em> on.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>____________________________</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz groaned, sitting back in his chair, his eyes lidded with tiredness, “Ok, I tap out.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe looked up, licking his lips to clear the excess of the butterblast around his mouth, “Aw, already?” he whined, pointing to Fitz's almost full plate, “You barely ate half!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Unlike my boyfriend, I don’t have the stomach of a T-rex.” Fitz retorted, a lazy smile dancing across his features.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe rolled his eyes, pushing his plate away and leaning his head on the table with a soft <em>thump</em>. His stomach growled in protest to moving, and Keefe groaned with it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You alright?” Fitz asked, sitting up and walking around the table to the blond.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe groaned again, and Fitz's lips curled in a smile as he reached under boyfriend's slumped arms, hauling him to his feet. Keefe stayed limp, his head landing on Fitz's forearm.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz scoffed, “Come on you big baby, you can walk to the couch.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe whined, but he reluctantly staggered along with Fitz all the way to the couch, where he promptly collapsed face-first.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz snickered and Keefe raised his head to glare at him, “Why are you laughing at my agony Fitzy?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It is your fault you know,” Fitz reminded him as Keefe rolled onto his back, “You ate almost two whole plates.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You called me over to eat sweets, of course, I'm going to eat a lot of them.”Keefe retorted, making ridiculous hand gestures as if to accentuate his point.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz giggled slightly, making a move to get up from the couch before a hand tugged him back down. Fitz glanced over his shoulder.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Comere” Keefe whined, making grabby hands.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I need to get you some water,” Fitz protested as he was slowly dragged ontop of his boyfriend.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Water can wait, I want cuddles.” Keefe protested, nuzzling into Fitz’s neck.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz couldn't help the blush that rose to his face, and he was sure that Keefe could feel it too, being an empath after all.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I can also tell that you are pretty tired,” Keefe said after a moment, his voice soft.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz practically melted.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Fine,” he amended after a moment, tugging Keefe closer to his chest, “But only for a little bit okay? Then I’m  getting you some water”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Keefe nodded, a soft smile forming on his face, “Only for a little.” he repeated, closing his eyes and cuddling closer to his boyfriend.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>____________________________</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As it turns out, ‘A little bit’ turned into five hours of sleepy cuddling, and when Biana and Sophie eventually leaped back to Everglen from Atlantis, they both practically melted at the sight of both of the boys cuddling together.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie made sure to take plenty of pictures for later, and Biana <s>finished</s> put away the rest of the sweets, making sure to at least spare both of the boy's unfinished platters of treats.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>What a lovely afternoon at Everglen.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Your Merry Apothecary (Kesline)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Ooh ok prompt uhhh......how did juline and kesler meet 👀"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[Note: sorry this took so long to get out! also sorry the name isn’t very creative lol]</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>“Juline, we really ought to buy you some new dresses soon” Her mother called, slowing her stride slightly so that Juline could catch up to her. The two women were on a shopping trip in Mysterium, sadly not Julines favorite way to spend a day, but it would have to do.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The girl huffed slightly, rolling her eyes, “You know I don’t exactly enjoy wearing fancy clothes.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You are going to be expected to host at least one Winnowing Gala.” Her mother reminded her. Juline shuddered slightly as the woman clasped her hands together, a faraway look in her eyes, “Just imagining you dancing with someone, looking so gorgeous, oh, whoever gets to dance with you will be one lucky man.” She winked at her daughter, and Juline couldn’t stop the smile that curled at her lips.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Maybe one day,” Juline said, turning to face her, “For now I just want to focus on my studies and graduate from the elite levels,” she added.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her mother opened her mouth to reply when a confused and taken back look crossed her features. Juline cocked her head, following the women’s line of eyesight, and…promptly burst out laughing.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her mother's eyes shot to her daughter, “Why are you laughing?” she asked, genuine confusion etching across her eyes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline was almost doubled over, and it wasn’t even that funny. She wiped her eyes with her cape, meeting her mother's slightly amused gaze, “It just looks really funny,” she managed, “It's such a bright store, standing out against all of these dull ones, it's just kinda funny I guess.” She giggled slightly as her mom stared at her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The store in question was quite bright, with exaggerated and bright colors splashed across its front. Its two-story walls were curled slightly, with a sloping roof, it looked like one of the houses in Juline’s old nursery books. A lopsided sign sat out front, with the words <em>Slurps and Burps: Your Merry Apothecary</em> scrawled onto it. Juline couldn’t help but smile at how out of the ordinary it looked among the rest of the normal clad buildings.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She was snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that her mother had walked ahead, almost two building ahead to be exact.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey wait up!” she yelled, racing to catch up to her mother, who at this point had stopped in front of a crystal building, which sparkled a pale pink.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline wrinkled her nose when she read the sign, “A dress shop.” she grumbled.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her mother beamed, “I remember finding my first Winnowing Gala gown here” she exclaimed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline sighed, too exhausted from her run to explain again why exactly she wasn’t planning on having a Winnowing Gala so soon. Instead, she begrudgingly followed her mom into the store, which jingled with a happy tune as a cashier greeted them and led them down an aisle adorned with dozens of dazzling dresses.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her mother clapped her hands together “Now then, where should we start?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>_____________________</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>About an hour later, and about 3 dresses in, Juline was ready to leave. She placed the third dress on its correct hanger, opening the door to the dressing room and slipping out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh, Juline, I found this gorgeous dress that would look beautiful on you!” her mother exclaimed like she hadn’t said that two minutes ago.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline glanced down at the dress. It was pretty, but further, inspection showed that it wasn’t her size. She promptly pointed this out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her mother frowned, pulling it back and examining the tag. An employee noticed the pair and bustled over, “Would you like me to check in the back for one of her sizes?” The woman asked politely.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her mother nodded, and Juline had a sudden idea.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh, mom?” she asked, making both her mother and the employee turn their heads as she leaned  into the changing room and grabbed a sloping black ball gown that was much too large for her with her hand, “This one was also a bit large on me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her mother's eyes widened in acknowledgment, “In that case,” she said to the employee as Juline handed her the dress, “I should probably go with you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The employee nodded, “Of course ma’am.” The two rounded the corner, heading for a door in the back, which Juline guessed was where they kept the extra dresses in different sizes.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Once her mother was out of sight, Juline quickly hurried for the entrance of the store. Waving a quick goodbye to the cashier on duty, she opened the doors and practically sprinted out of them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The air felt much cleaner outside than in that stuffy store, and she looked around, only now realizing she had no idea where she wanted to go.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her eyes landed on the bright building a couple of stores down, and she smirked lightly, deciding to head that direction.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The door burped when she entered, making her giggle slightly as she took in the store around her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The color from the outside trailed in, making the entire first floor seem bright and cheery. An abandoned register sat at the back of the store, and a doorway lay behind the wall, with a winding staircase leading up to wear Juline presumed to be the private second story. Cluttered aisles of bottles were spread around the shop, and even though they looked unorganized, different hanging signs adorned every section, labeling each one. Juline slipped into one of the tamer sections, admiring the crystal shelves and the elixirs that sat proudly on top of them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>As she browsed the aisles, smirking slightly at the stupid names on the bottles, she heard someone pad down the stairs and come to rest on the counter.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She peaked her head out from behind the shelves, squeaking slightly when she saw the man staring right at her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He was of medium build, with tousled strawberry blond hair. He had his head sitting on his crossed arms, giving her a one-over through narrowed periwinkle eyes<em>. he’s kinda cute. </em>Juline felt herself blush at the thought as they continued their staring match.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You’re the girl who was laughing outside earlier right?” He eventually asked, flashing a bright smile. Julines eyes widened slightly, her face heating up more, she hadn’t realized that he could see and hear her laughing from outside the shop.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I…uh” she stammered, stepping out from behind the shelves as she tucked some hair behind her ear, “yeah…” she looked down, embarrassed.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The elf let out a laugh, started her slightly, but oh, he had the prettiest laugh. She smiled slightly, then looked down at her boots again.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Your mom looked pretty grossed out at this place,” he commented, causing Juline to glance up again, “That's actually why I opened this place, it's nice to keep snobby nobles on their toes.” He glanced at her and smiled, and she smiled back.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I think this place is pretty funny actually,” she said, approaching the counter.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He raised his eyebrows at her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I meant like a cool type of funny!” she added quickly, blushing again. Jeez, was she always this easy to fluster?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The male laughed again,“ Relax, I wasn’t judging you, plus, I've never met someone in this store since I've opened that's actually thought that.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline picked up a bottle sitting on the counter, smirking slightly at the label.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>LovelyLocks</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you create all of these elixirs?“ she questioned, flipping over the bottle and reading the back.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Makes your hair smooth and silky with just one gulp!</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yup,” He replied, “I always loved alchemy, and since I don’t have an ability, I couldn't enter the elite levels, so I opened this place instead.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline looked up, “Your Talentless?” she asked.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The man nodded, “I’m the fifth of my five siblings, so I guess I was always destined to be one.” he looked at her as if waiting for her nose to curl in disgust, or for her to drop the bottle and storm out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But instead, she looked back down at the bottle, afraid to meet his eyes as she mumbled, “Well I happen to think alchemy pretty cool.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Now it was his turn to blush an adorable shade of pink, “Well…um-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A loud burp cut off his sentence, followed by a gasp from the entrance of the store. Julines head shot up, along with the male.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Juline?” her mother called.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Mom?” Juline asked, meeting the eyes of her mother, who looked very taken aback.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“There you are!” her mother said as she approached them,“ You can’t just wander off like that when we're trying on clothes.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline flushed slightly when she caught the man next to her grinning.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Sorry,” she mumbled, placing the elixir back on the counter as her mother grabbed her wrist.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Julines a cute name” the elf whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Juline’s face went nuclear as she whipped around with great difficulty, still in her mother's iron grip, to face him, “I um…I never caught your name.” She said.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He looked slightly surprised, and for a moment Juline thought she overstepped, but then he shot her another grin, and she realized with a jolt that he had dimples.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Cute</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Kesler,” he said, grinning, “Kesler Dizznee.”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Great Gulon Incident 2.0 (Sokeefe)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Okay but imagine Sophie and Keefe being forced to hide out in like a little storage closet for hours to avoid the Neverseen or their parents or something. The whole time they have to snuggle up together and he is just relentlessly teasing her because he can sense her emotions and knows she is enjoying the cuddling"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[notes: this is a long one! really really sorry that this took so long to get out but it's here now! I really like how this one turned out :) although the title isn't very creative heh]</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We shouldn’t be doing this”</p>
<p>Sophie had mumbled those words under her breath at least five times at this point, but this time it seemed to catch Keefe’s attention. He glanced over at her, a smirk resting across his face.</p>
<p>“Aw come on Foster, live a little! Tell me the last time you pranked someone, especially Forkle.”</p>
<p>Sophie rolled her eyes, eyeing the bag he had slung over his shoulder wearily as it jostled around, “You should be more careful with those.” she hissed, “have you forgotten you're carrying around live, stinky bombs?”</p>
<p>Keefe snickered quietly, making his footsteps softer as they neared the Foxfire gates, “Don’t worry, I know how to handle these guys, I happened to learn a few from the supposedly very handsome boy who caused the Great Gulon Incident.” He winked as he said the last part, and Sophie scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.</p>
<p>Keefe had hailed her last night, asking if he could leap over for some “important business”. Sophie had been expecting something more along the lines of <em>actually</em> serious but learned that he instead had wanted to snag some of the gulons that were residing at Havenfield.</p>
<p>“And why exactly do you need <em>ten </em>gulons Keefe?” she had asked him, raising an eyebrow.</p>
<p>Keefe resembled the look of a pouting child as he twiddled his thumbs, “It's been ages since I’ve pulled off a good prank Foster,” he whined, “I think I'm going through withdrawal! The least you can let me do is led a few stinkers for the cause.” His eyes resembled a cute baby alicorn, and Sophie felt her resolve slowly chipping away.</p>
<p>Eventually, she threw her arms up in the air, sighing loudly, “Fine” she grumbled, holding up a finger when his face broke out in a wide grin. She tried to ignore the flickering flame in the back of her chest, itching to cause mischief, but ultimately gave in, “You only get five gulons, Keefe…. and I want to come with you.”</p>
<p>Keefe grinned wider, if that was even possible, and quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her to her desk, “I’m so glad you agreed to help the cause Foster!” he brandished a notebook out of thin air, “Now let me show you the plan….”</p>
<p>She was snapped out of her memory when Keefe shoved the sack of gulons at her, nearly knocking her off balance.</p>
<p>“Ah- sorry, I just need to unlock the gate” Keefe quickly apologized as he pulled out what looked like a keycard and swiped it over a sensor next to the doors. He tugged the hood of his black cape over his eyes and face, stepping in front of Sophie slightly as if to block her from view.</p>
<p>“What's wrong?” Sophie asked, frowning when Keefe all but shoved her into the doorway and through the large crystal halls.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” he said again, “There are security cameras hidden behind the large pillars.”</p>
<p>Sophie smirked, “How did you manage to figure that out?” she asked, handing him back the bag of gulons.</p>
<p>Keefe huffed quietly, “I found a map of the security cameras when I was pulling a prank on Dame Alina last year.”</p>
<p>“You really think far ahead in your plans,” Sophie remarked, following Keefe down the hall. She could have sworn his ears turned pink, but that could be a trick of the light.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long until they reached Magnate Leto’s office, and Keefe used another keycard like before in order to get inside. His face seemed to light up slightly as he untied the cord and gently opened the top of the bag. He leaped back quickly, gently tugging on Sophie's arm as the creatures toppled out of the bag, looking very disgruntled.</p>
<p>One of them let out a large burp, emitting a green-gray gas that had Sophie curling her lip and coughing slightly.</p>
<p>“Come on,” Keefe said, tugging her back slightly, “This is the part I wouldn’t stick around for.”</p>
<p>Sophie let Keefe drag her into the hallway, a giddy feeling settling inside her gut as Keefe shut the door, rather loudly.</p>
<p>They locked eyes, and Sophie felt a laugh bubbling up in her throat, Keefe seemed to have the same problem. Sophie clutched her stomach as a giggle made its way up out of her mouth, she quickly slapped a hand over it, her eyes wide. Keefe laughed at her expression, nearly doubling over.</p>
<p>“Come on.” he wheezed, grabbing her hand, making her blush slightly, but she was too busy trying to contain her laughter that she didn’t pay any attention to it.</p>
<p>They raced down the twisting halls, letting their laughter out freely as their footsteps echoed around the crystal halls.</p>
<p>They slowed slightly, still giggling quietly. They didn’t even notice that their hands were still entwined.</p>
<p>Then Sophie heard it.</p>
<p><em>Footsteps</em>.</p>
<p>They froze at the same time, fear flashed across Sophie's face, and Keefe's eyes darted around, looking for an exit as the footsteps drew closer. They couldn't run towards the footsteps, but they also couldn’t run back where they came, since it would bring them back to the very stinky office.</p>
<p>In desperation, Keefe yanked Sophie towards the first thing he saw as the elf rounded the corner, closing in.</p>
<p>He covered her mouth as she let out a quiet yelp, pressing her against the wall of a supply closet as he dragged the door shut with his foot. They both flinched when it clanged loudly next to their ears.</p>
<p>Sophie locked eyes with Keefe, who has hunched over her rather awkwardly, trying to keep one hand over her mouth, and one over his own to stay silent.</p>
<p>“Are you certain you heard footsteps?” A voice asked, and Sophie's eyes widened at the same time as Keefe's. They knew that voice.</p>
<p>“I also heard laughter.” Lady Zillah said, and Sophie could hear her walk closer towards their door, the shadow underneath the crack growing larger. She glanced at Keefe, who had panic pacing in his eyes.</p>
<p>“Maybe you just thought you heard something,” Tam said through a yawn, making the shadow stop, “I mean, it's almost dawn, shouldn't we be locking up for the night aways? I’m getting pretty tired.”</p>
<p>Lady Zillah sighed, and Sophie inhaled sharply when the shadow grew slightly closer.</p>
<p>The mentor turned away, “Fine, but we are practicing even <em>more </em>tomorrow night got it?” Sophie breathed out harshly, hearing Keefe do the same.</p>
<p>“Whatever,” Tam grumbled as the footsteps silently retreated deeper into the school, presumably towards the gates.</p>
<p>Keefe finally let his hands fall away from both of their faces and Sophie took a deep breath of air, blinking a couple of times to adjust to the darkness.</p>
<p>“That was close.” They both said at the same time.</p>
<p>Keefe slightly huffed with laughter, nudging past Sophie to get to the door, “We’re lucky we weren't caught” he admitted as he reached for the handle, “It would've been worse than The Great Gulon Incident.”</p>
<p>“Ah, so are you finally admitting that you were the one who did it, Keefe?” Sophie asked teasingly.</p>
<p>She waited for him to reply, but he stood frozen, his hand on the doorknob.</p>
<p>“What's wrong?” Sophie asked, just now noticing how small the supply cabinet seemed. A bad feel brewed in her gut.</p>
<p>Keefe turned slowly, slight panic, with a little bit of guilt etched across his face as he sucked in a breath, “We may or may not be locked in a supply closet.”</p>
<p>Sophie felt her face drop, and she rushed past Keefe (which only took about a step) and tried to turn the doorknob, but to no avail.</p>
<p>She let out a puff of laughter, partially disbelief, that she had somehow ended up in this situation, with <em>Keefe </em>of all people.</p>
<p>“You alright there Foster?” Keefe asked, his breath ghosting along her neck, making her shiver.</p>
<p>She remembered hearing about a game that humans would play. Seven Minutes in Heaven, where they would lock two people in a closet like the one they were currently stuck in, and in seven minutes those two people could do <em>anything</em> they wanted until the time was up.</p>
<p>She pushed the thought out of her mind quickly before Keefe could notice her shift in emotions. He raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to say something.</p>
<p>“Can’t we just bust down the door with telekinesis?” Sophie said quickly, her voice slightly more high-pitched than usual. She cleared her throat, her stomach dropping when Keefe shook his head.</p>
<p>“Two things,” Keefe said, holding up his hand with one finger raised,“ One, these doors are made of a <em>crazy </em>strong metal, like, as thick as the doors at Luminaria, that's why it was so loud when it shut, and before you ask, no, I have no idea why the doors are so thick, they just are.”</p>
<p>“Second,” he said, holding up a second finger, “The security here recognizes when a door is unlocked, or when a door is, ya know, exploded from the inside.” he mimed an explosion complete with sound effects and Sophie rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>It fell silent, and Sophie stared at the ground, “So” she hedged, “We can’t get out of here.”</p>
<p>Keefe shook his head, “Not until morning, all of the doors unlocked at around six, which is normally when all the mentors arrive.”</p>
<p>Sophie dragged a hand down her face, trying to ignore the panic and sudden <em>other </em>emotion she was feeling.</p>
<p>Embarrassment maybe? No, that didn't seem right, it seemed almost <em>fluttery</em>, and she tried to stamp out the feeling before Keefe felt it, but she saw his eyes flicker.</p>
<p>She swallowed thickly.</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” her voice squeaked slightly, and she cleared her throat quickly.</p>
<p>Keefe's eyes seemed to glow slightly in the dim light, and it was then that she realized how <em>small </em>the supply closet was. Sophie and Keefe's feet were touching, even though they were on opposite walls.</p>
<p>“Oh, I'm sure,” his voice had dropped an octave, and Sophie felt her cheeks flush. He moved slightly, pushing himself off the wall and positioning his leg in between hers as he leaned next to her ear, caging her in with his elbows braced against the wall behind her, “What's wrong, Foster? I’d say you almost seem <em>nervous</em>.” his tone was different, deeper, it lacked its usual teasing tone.</p>
<p>Sophie found it difficult to breathe, and when she did take a shaky breath, it didn’t help, because all she got was a lung full of <em>Keefe</em>.</p>
<p>He smelled cool and minty, almost like the peppermint bark that her human family used to make around the holidays, with a hint of the ocean, no doubt from the white foam waves that he said he swam in every morning. Sophie suddenly felt herself imagining what he would look like after swimming in the water, with his hair flat against his head, and sweat curling around his jawline and his shirtless chest-</p>
<p><em>STOP</em>! her mind screamed, forcing herself to shred the image from her brain and frantically trying to stop her emotions from getting even <em>more </em>out of control.</p>
<p>She could feel his breath hot against her neck and she shivered as she felt his lips curl into a sly grin. She forced her eyes to look dead at the wall in front of her, certain that if she glanced at Keefe, things would <em>definitely </em>go south, not that Sophie would be complaining-</p>
<p><em>Stop</em>. her mind growled again, more firmly, as if bating this other, more feral Sophie with a wooden bat into a dark corner of her mind. <em>Shoo! Come out later, when you’re </em>not<em> stuck in a supply closet with one of your closest friends who can also tell what you’re feeling at </em>all <em>times.</em></p>
<p>Keefe's right hand came up to her hip, and she shivered again, partially from well, the fact that his hand was on her <em>fucking</em> hip, and partially because the supply closet was getting really <em>cold</em>.</p>
<p>“Are you cold?” Keefe's voice was right next to her ear, allowing her to hear that he had a deep timbre to his tone that Sophie had never noticed. And she’d be lying if it didn’t make her legs feel like they turned to jello.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah.” She breathed, hating how she stammered.</p>
<p>Keefe pulled away from her, and she naively thought that it would better, now that she could actually breathe and not inhale his <em>intoxicating</em> scent.</p>
<p>But oh how she was wrong.</p>
<p>Because when Keefe pulled away, she could see his eyes, and his jaw, and his biceps, and his <em>lips</em>, and she hated how her eyes quickly dropped to his lips. But could you really blame her?</p>
<p>Yeah, feral Sophie got another smack with the bat.</p>
<p>She shook her head, pulling away slightly as Keefe removed his hands from the sides of her head. He kept his leg between her thighs, and Sophie pretended not to notice as she shivered again, hoping the cold could be blamed for the pink on her cheeks.</p>
<p>“I told you to bring a cape, Foster.” The teasing tone was back and Keefe finally, <em>finally</em><em>,</em> took a step back, removing his leg from between hers.</p>
<p>She actually felt like she could breathe again.</p>
<p>“I didn’t think we would get stuck in a freezing supply closet.” Sophie retorted, bringing her hands around her chest, looking away.</p>
<p>Keefe sighed softly, and Sophie glanced at him right as he draped his cloak over her shoulders, pinning it in place with her Ruewen crest that she carried everywhere, even if she wasn’t wearing a cape.</p>
<p>Keefe said something after that, but it was drowned out by the ringing in her ears. Because if she thought that Keefe leaning over her in his scent was overwhelming, she severely underestimated what being wrapped in his<em> cloak</em> would do to her.</p>
<p>She didn’t realize what she was doing until she did it. Bringing the hood to her nose, she took a deep whiff, savoring what his scent felt like in her nose. And <em>wow</em>, she had never felt this <em>safe </em>before.</p>
<p>She snapped out of it suddenly. <em>God Sophie, what are you doing?</em> furiously trying to act like she was trying to warm her nose and not try to sniff his cape like a fucking <em>weirdo</em>.</p>
<p>She glanced at him.</p>
<p>He stared at her, a mixture of amusement and- was that almost <em>pride</em>? No, it couldn’t be that. Sophie felt her face turn pinker. To get away from her mounting embarrassment, She chose to look away from what was causing it.</p>
<p>“W-Why are the supply closets so cold at night?” she asked, blaming the slight stumble in her words as an act of the cold as she averted her eyes from his piercing blue ones.</p>
<p>Keefe blinked, wrapping his arms around himself right as Sophie realized how cold she must have just made him.</p>
<p>“Foxfire gets cold at night normally, so it's not like I didn’t expect this, which is again, why I told you to bring a cape.” he gave her a pointed look and Sophie scoffed.</p>
<p>She was about to reply when a full-body shiver racked Keefe's torso, making him clench his teeth.</p>
<p>She frowned, beginning to unclasp her crest from the cloak.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to-”</p>
<p>Keefe was cut off when Sophie stepped forward and flung half of the cloak over his shoulders. Sure it was slightly cramped, and it caused Sophie to be squished into Keefe's shoulder, but she wasn’t exactly complaining.</p>
<p>Keefe stood stiff for a moment, then very gingerly wrapped his left arm around her waist, pulling her slightly closer and causing the cloak to cover her more. He bent his legs, tugging her down slightly so that they were now sitting on the floor, and unfortunately for Sophie’s poor little heart, in a very <em>compromising </em>position.</p>
<p>Sophie was sure her face was practically <em>maroon</em> as she awkwardly straddled Keefe’s lap, and she looked anywhere but him as he readjusted the cloak.</p>
<p>“You can turn around if you want,” Keefe said softly, his ears slightly pink, “It would probably help the cloak to cover you better.”</p>
<p>Sophie nodded mutely, shifting around in the blond's lap until she was sitting comfortably against his chest, her racing heart didn’t slow down as Keefe stretched out his legs, almost touching the other wall, and let her do the same until they were practically miming the same position.</p>
<p>Keefe's hands were still on her hips, and she could feel her skin burning from underneath the thin fabric of her tunic.</p>
<p>“Is this ok?” Keefe asked, his voice was softer then she had ever heard, and he sounded slightly unsure of himself.</p>
<p>“Yeah, this is fine.” granted, it came out a little more breathy than Sophie was hoping for, but hopefully Keefe couldn't feel how fast her heart was <em>still </em>pounding in her chest.</p>
<p>But <em>oh </em>how he could.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Keefe was eternally grateful that Foster didn’t manifest as an empath. Because if she did, he would be <em>screwed.</em></p>
<p>His heart felt like a stampede of mastodons as Foster shifted again, bringing her legs slightly closers to her lap, which caused her to fall <em>further </em>into Keefe's torso.</p>
<p>Over the years of living with his father, Keefe had learned how to hide his emotions behind false smiles or jokes, and right now he was grateful that Foster didn’t turn behind to look at him. And he prayed to whatever god was up there, that she couldn’t feel his hands shaking as he readjusted the cloak again, shamelessly giving her more of the fabric for her to curl closer into.</p>
<p>And he’d be lying if he wasn’t absolutely <em>preening </em>at the way Foster looked in his cloak. Pride swelling in his chest as she sighed slightly, seeming to get over her initial embarrassment and burrow into the folds of the black coak.</p>
<p>Of course, there was the other part of his brain, which was screaming over and over, <em>HOLY FUCK YOUR CRUSH IS IN YOUR LAP THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STARING GO KISS HER YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBAS-</em></p>
<p>“Keefe?”</p>
<p>He hummed slightly, and Sophie could feel the vibrations from where she was curled on his lap.</p>
<p>“How long do you think we’ll be stuck in here?”</p>
<p>He shrugged,“ at least for a couple more hours I’d guess.”</p>
<p>She felt his head lean forward, and she squeaked when his hands came around her hips instead of tucked into his side. He hesitated for a second, and she felt her face burn, trying to ignore the fact that they would be in this position for a few more <em>hours</em>.</p>
<p>Suddenly she felt his chin on her shoulder. His breath fanned across her right ear and cheek. Sophie fought not to shiver because she doubted Keefe would believe her if she told him she was <em>still </em>cold.</p>
<p>“Why?” Keefe questioned, and Sophie could hear the timbre of his voice again, vibrating next to her ear.</p>
<p>A voice in the back of her mind told her that she should be on the other side of the room, frantically trying to hide her flustered emotions from the empath, but…</p>
<p>She sighed, leaning her head against his, feeling his eyelashes flutter next to her cheek as she closed her eyes, “Just wondering.” she mumbled, a small smile creeping onto her face as Keefe pulled her slightly closer under the cloak.</p>
<p>Keefe echoed her smile, tugging her back against his chest and bringing his hands across hers. A slight blush tinged his cheeks, but he could feel her emotions against his chest, and they were…</p>
<p>Flustered, yeah. But also… calm, and almost, <em>soft.</em></p>
<p>Exhaustion pawed at the teens. And Sophie found herself burrowing further into Keefe's chest. And Keefe found himself curling closer into Sophie.</p>
<p>They could deal with the aftermath of this prank later. Right now? They were comfortable, warm, and <em>happy.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. All I Want For Christmas Is You (Sophitz)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[note: I found this in my notes app after trying and failing to clean it out. Anyways, this was a short Sophitz drabble i wrote and probably didn’t edit so,,, enjoy!]</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>Fitz crouched down, his eyes level with the glass door of the oven,”So baking cookies for this Santa dude is a thing that humans do?” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie smiled softly, dusting the flour from her hands onto her hoodie and gently pulling Fitz up from the floor,” Pretty much yeah,” she remarked, blushing slightly when Fitz’s hands landed on her waist, some residual flour falling onto his old X-Men t-shirt. She refrained from explaining that some parts of the world don’t celebrate Christmas and that it was technically a religious holiday, but she feared Fitz would get way too confused.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie had always gotten pretty homesick around the holidays, but this year had been a bit more difficult. Ever since Keefe had left, she found herself thinking more about the Forbidden Cities, and what it would be like around the holidays. Her human family used to stay up baking sugar cookies for Santa the night of Christmas Eve. And while it certainly wasn’t a celebrated holiday in the Lost Cities, she had somehow managed to rope her boyfriend into making them with her, while also teaching him about Santa in the process. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She hesitated for only a second before pressing a quick kiss on his lips and pulling away, watching his face go pleasantly blank with shock. Since they were both so new to dating, kissing had been a thing they only started doing recently, so when Sophie did it to Fitz, he tended to get very surprised (in the most adorable way ever) </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He bounced back pretty quickly, a teasing grin creeping onto his face,” Using my weakness against me huh? Well, two can play at that game.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>His hands, which were resting on her hips, suddenly dug into her sides. She yelped, attempting to push his hands away when his fingers start dancing up and down her stomach.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Stop, please- have mercy on me.” She pleads through breathless gasps, giggling and squirming away from his touch.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz smirked, leaning close to her ear,” Long live the king,” he whispered. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie let out a choked laugh, entirely from Fitz’s (hilariously timed) Lion King reference, which he knew from when she made him watch it with her on her iPod.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She slapped his arm weakly,” I-I also have to get the cookies- before they burn.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz paused his onslaught for a moment, seeming to contemplate it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He leaned down, giving her nose a quick peck, before leaning back (taking his torture weapons with him) against the counter.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’ll allow it.” he huffed teasingly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie giggled, grabbing the oven mitts from where they were resting on the stove and slipping them on her hands. The hot air was as warm as it was suffocating when she opened the door. She let out a small sigh as she inhaled the scent of them, gently removing the perfectly golden cookies from the oven and setting them on top of the oven.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She frowned as she turned around. Fitz was gone.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Oh no, you are not leaving me here to clean this all up on my own,” Sophie shouted, taking off the mitts and rounding the counter. She was just about to make it out of the kitchen when Fitz appears again, a small wrapped box sitting in his hands. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What...?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s Christmas right?” Fitz asked, and Sophie was ready to correct him that it was technically Christmas Eve, but she checked the clock behind his shoulder and...</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>12:09</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It is,” she said slowly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz smiled softly, and something about it still made her heart race, even though they were dating,” Then I guess I can give you this now.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He handed her the box, which was slightly larger than her outstretched hands.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“But I didn’t get you anything-“</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz shrugged,” Its fine, I already got all I needed for Christmas.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The soft look was back again, and Sophie was honestly ready to melt into a pile of goo at this point.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>but she refrained, instead she tore off the teal wrapping paper, her mouth gaping slightly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A small royal blue box with intricate gold carvings sat in front of her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz leaned over her, one of his hands coming to rest on her waist,” Dex helped me find it,” he admitted,” We looked on some human websites- or whatever they’re called- but I remember you saying that you had a music box when you were younger right?” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie nodded numbly, her vision blurred slightly. She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She knew Fitz was always thoughtful with his gifts, but sometimes he still managed to surprise her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Hey- are you okay?” Fitz asked, suddenly worried,” If you don’t like it Dex can always send it back or something, honestly I’m still not sure how that would work but-“ </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He was cut off when Sophie kissed him on the lips, throwing her arms around his neck as she turned. He melted into it, bringing his other hand to rest on her jaw as he held her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie pulled away after a moment, smiling,” I love it Fitz, thank you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A small blush coated his cheeks and he grinned,” Don’t thank me yet.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She was about to ask what that meant. But Fitz leaned over her shoulder and grabbed the music box, winding it carefully. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The top popped open, revealing a small, crystal ballerina. She spun to the gentle melody and Fitz placed it back on the counter after winding it up a decent amount of times. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He spun Sophie back around, bringing one of his hands to rest on her hip and the other on her shoulder.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie realized what he was doing a second after he slowly started to pull her into him. His hot breath fanned against the column of her neck, and she let her arms wrap around his torso, coming to rest on his shoulders. It was just the two of them, slowly swaying back and forth in the kitchen, a music box playing in the background.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It felt like a moment so fragile, more so than glass.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Merry Christmas” Sophie whispered, afraid of shattering the serenity.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fitz hums in tune with the music, leaning down and kissing her slowly,” Merry Christmas Sophie.”</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. We Gon' Burn The Whole House Down (Platonic Sotam)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Platonic Sophie and Tam listening to human music."</p><p>*This Story Contains Spoilers For Unlocked*</p><p>I would recommend listening to this song while reading this since it's what the story, as well as the title, is based on. For mobile users, or if the link isn't working, listen to Burn the House Down by AJR, thanks!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[Notes: ahhhh it's finally completed! this was actually a prompt I started first, forgot about it, lost motivation, and eventually came back too heh. I am proud of this one though]</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p>“Keefe was right, you really haven’t decorated your room much.”</p>
  <p>Sophie glanced up from where she was rubbing Iggy's belly, the small (now blue and green) fluffball letting out a whine of dissatisfaction at her retreating fingers.</p>
  <p>“I guess I’ve just never had much time to decorate,” she sighed.</p>
  <p>Tam shrugged,” I guess I can’t complain, my room at Teirgans isn’t that decorated either.”</p>
  <p>He stared at the papers framed around the room, Keefe had gotten into the habit of giving his friends old pages from his sketchbooks, insisting that they were useless to him in his quest to find memories about his mom. His gaze lingered on a drawing of Luna and Silveny, curled up in the grass together. The mama alicorns head rested on top of her baby’s, both of their eyes closed as they dozed. Currently, the two alicorns were playing in the pastures with his sister. He was sure Wynn and Greyfell were there too.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Faint chatter echoed downstairs. The collective had gathered in Havenfield for another meeting. They've been having a lot of them lately.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Ever since Keefe left.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie cleared her throat, looking away from the pictures. Her body felt heavy.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam seemed to notice her discomfort, and he turned to her, his eyes softening, “I’m sure he's alright.” He murmured.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie resumed her scratching, Iggy's grumbling purrs filling the room, “I hope so.” she whispered.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The silence stretched on for a moment before Tam cleared his throat,“ This is a bit awkward isn't it?” he asked.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie looked up, “What do you mean?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam huffed slightly, and Sophie noticed how he shifted in the same spot, so she patted the bed. He hesitated for a moment before sitting down.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I mean, I know we’re friends, but….” He trailed off.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie understood, “I guess I haven’t been the best at including you and Linh huh?” she said.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It felt <em>weird</em>, she knew Tam, and she knew they both considered each other friends but, they <em>barely </em>talked to each other outside of Blackswan stuff, or when <em>all </em>of them were hanging out together.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam <em>was</em> only up here because he asked to see Keefe's artwork.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam nodded, “It’s partially my fault,” he grimaced, “If I hadn't joined with the Neverse-”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Don’t say that.” Sophie said firmly, her eyes meeting his, “We all know it wasn’t your fault.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie knew he didn’t believe her. His eyes betrayed him. Unfortunately, she knew that guilt all too well.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The silence was back, and thicker than it was before.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Have you ever listened to music?” Sophie found herself blurting. Her face ran hot, wishing she could take the words back. O<em>f course, he could you idiot</em>, her mind reprimanded, <em>his family literally does that for a living.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam opened his mouth.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Human music,” Sophie added quickly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tams mouth closed, “No, I haven't.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you want to?” Sophie offered.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam cocked his head, his eyes skittered around the room, “How?” he asked dumbly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie sat up, walking over to her dresser. She crouched down, reaching into the bottom drawer. It's not like it was <em>illegal </em>to have human items, In fact, the collective and Councilor Terik knew she had kept some human things with her when she came to the Lost Cities, <em>but </em>you could never be too sure.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She withdrew, holding her iPod and some earphones, “With these.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam blinked as she walked back over, sitting down and plugging the earphones into the jack. He stared at the iPod curiously as Sophie turned it on.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It’s human obviously,” Sophie explained, tapping the screen and opening her music. She smiled softly, it had been so long since she had listened to any of her songs.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are they human artists?” Tam asked, peering over her shoulder to look at the screen.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie nodded, “A lot of human music is stored in this app so that people can listen to it from anywhere.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam's eyes flashed with understanding, and Sophie handed him an earbud. He stared at it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie giggled slightly, pointing to her ear, “In here.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The tips of his ears turned slightly red, and he looked down, “Right.” he mumbled sheepishly, placing the earbud in his ear slowly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie scrolled to her most recent playlist (recent meaning a couple of <em>years </em>Ago) and clicked on her most recent play.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She had only found this band when she was bored and homesick, scrolling through her recommended.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The song started almost immediately, and Tam’s brow furrowed, trying to understand the language.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Used to keep it cool</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Used to be a fool</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>All about the bounce in my step</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“It's in a human language,” Sophie explained.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Watch it on the news</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Whatcha gonna do?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>I could hit refresh and forget</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Trumpets started in the background, following the beat of the song, and Tam relaxed slightly, “That kinda sounds like one of the instruments my mother uses.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granted, Sophie could understand the lyrics just fine, but she knew Tam <em>couldn't</em>. Even so, he seemed to like the beat as the song progressed, and she smiled lightly when she saw his head bobbing along with the music.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She noticed the song fading slightly, and her mood lightened, she had always been a fan of beat drops in songs, especially these ones.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>…..Is that right?</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The trumpets sang faster as the tempo picked up, and Tam's eyebrows raised slightly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Lose</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>My</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>Mind</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The beat dropped, and Tam's mouth gaped slightly. Sophie laughed softly at his expression. She had to admit when she had first listened to it, she had a pretty similar reaction. There was something about the distant drums and the background bass that really tied the whole song together.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <em>We gon' burn the whole house down</em>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam smiled, glancing up at Sophie, “What are they saying?” He asked, and Sophie noticed his foot tapping her carpet to the rhythm as well.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie quoted the lyrics as they faded out, “<em>We gon' burn the whole house down.”</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam snickered, “Are humans a bunch of arsonists or something?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie laughed, “Some maybe, but these lyrics have a different meaning I think.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam glanced down at the iPod, which was flashing lyrics, but not in a language he could understand.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie was no singer, but she <em>did </em>want Tam to understand the song, so without meaning too, she began to quote the song as it continued.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“…<em>Gawking at the tricks up your sleeve,” </em>She said it quietly, and Tam looked up</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Are those the lyrics?” He asked.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie nodded, continuing, “<em>Too good to be true, But I'm in a room, Full of entertainers and thieves, Used to let it go.”</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The trumpets picked up again, and Tam must have realized that the beat was about to drop again because he followed Sophie’s words slowly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“<em>Woah no</em>,” Sophie smiled, moving her head in time with the lyrics as Tam copied her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The two had turned to face each other, with Tam slowly mouthing the lyrics (A little bit off time-wise, but Sophie didn't blame him) And Sophie nodding along.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“<em>Way up way up we go, been up and down that road, way up way up oh no</em>,-” Sophie started.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“<em>We gon' burn the whole house down.” </em>A large grin broke out on Tam’s face, and Sophie found herself smiling with him. She had never heard him sing before, and it sounded <em>nice</em>. His voice was smooth and drifted slowly, almost like he was whispering the words instead of singing them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They finished the song like that, with Tam slowly learning the repeating lyrics and timing and Sophie helping him out occasionally.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The song finished loudly, with the beat dropping one last time as the riff slowly faded out.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The grin stayed on Tam's face as he glanced back at the iPod.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That was…nice.” He murmured, and Sophie gazed at him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I listen to human music sometimes, when I want to remember my old home.” Sophie said, looking down at the iPod, “Dex fixed it up so it's powered by sunlight too,”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam nodded, and he glanced back up, looking sheepish, “Are there maybe..more songs by them?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“AJR?” Sophie questioned.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Is that what they're called?” Tam asked, then nodded quickly, “Yeah, them.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie smiled, clicking right below the song and opening up the band's full list, her eyes widened slightly, “There are more since I last listened to them.” She said.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“How many?” Tam asked, leaning over.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“About 60.” She murmured.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tam shrugged, and then he smirked, “Can we listen to all of them?”</p>
</div><div class="">
<p></p><div class=""><p>Sophie smiled back, laughing slightly, “Sure.”</p></div><div class="">
<p></p></div></div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Anchor (Marellinh)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sometimes she felt helpless, lost. It was normally at night, in the darkness of her room, where she could truly reflect. Where she could pace her own mind.</p><p>She sometimes wondered if that was a burden or a gift.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Short Marellinh drabble I wrote at like one in the morning, unedited.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She stared at her hand, a faint ember sparked in her palm, making her wrist ache and burn as it traveled up, curling around her outstretched palm in what faintly reminded her of handcuffs.</p><p>Her parents had been accepting of her new power, so had her friends. <em>Linh</em></p><p>But she couldn’t accept it.</p><p>She was forever talentless, at least to the outside world.</p><p>She would be scorned either way, facing backlash because of an ability she couldn’t control.</p><p>Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth. Tears pricked at her eyes.</p><p>Sometimes she felt helpless, lost. It was normally at night, in the darkness of her room, where she could truly reflect. Where she could pace her own mind.</p><p>She sometimes wondered if that was a burden or a gift.</p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>.” She whispered, curling in on herself, her burning digits clutching her blackened covers.</p><p>It was different when she was alone. She loved her mother, but she was so <em>tired</em>. Tired of being the anchor, the one who kept her family <em>whole</em>.</p><p>Her father was away most days, which left her alone in the house, caring for her mother.</p><p>She had broken down once. In front of her, which only sent her mother into a state of rage. She knew her mother couldn’t control it, so she frantically dried her tears, calmed her mother down, and pushed back the clawing <em>agony</em> in her stomach.</p><p>The day after she manifested was the day she realized everything she would have to hide. All of the dreams she would have to give up, the friendships she would lose. It made her <em>angry</em>.</p><p>She hadn’t realized how tough it would be for other pyrokinetics until she <em>was </em>one.</p><p>Her gift was a curse, she couldn’t heal with this power, only <em>kill</em>, <em>hurt</em>, <em>burn</em>.</p><p>Tears dripped down her cheeks, they were warm. She missed the coolness of them, when she would cry after scrapping her knee on the concrete, and her father would scoop her up gently and wipe them away, they would be salty and <em>cool</em>.</p><p>She hissed, wiping them away quickly, a far cry from the softness of her father's touch.</p><p>Her hands shook as she lowered them, sliding them under the covers. She couldn’t look at those <em>weapons</em>. Her head dropped to her knees, her burning tears pooling beneath her eyes.</p><p>She didn’t think as she removed one from the covers.</p><p>She didn’t think as she grabbed a <em>cold</em> silver rectangle from her dresser.</p><p>She didn’t think as she brought the device to her lips, murmuring the only name she could think of.</p><p>The only person who kept her grounded.</p><p>Who made her feel like less of a weapon.</p><p>Less of a burden.</p><p>Less of a <em>monster</em></p><p>“Marella?” Linhs soft voice was laced with sleep.</p><p>Marella took a shaky breath, biting her bottom lip hesitantly.</p><p>She remembered the words the girl had said to her, the first time she had called. The first time she had <em>truly </em>begun to lose herself.</p><p>//<em>You can call me any time, anywhere, and I’ll answer, but you need to promise me something</em>.// Linh had said.</p><p>She had asked through trembling breaths, her broken words tumbling out of her mouth, //<em>Promise you what?</em>//</p><p>Linh had cupped her cheek gently, her soft smile seemed like a gentle beam of moonlight, soothing the burning ache in her lungs</p><p>//<em>That you tell me what you need, whether you need to scream or cry, you need to hug or talk, you tell me.</em>//</p><p>“I need you.” She whimpered, hating her voice, the way it wavered, hating her hand, the way it clutched her imparter, hating her-</p><p>“Marella,” Linhs voice brought her back to reality,” Do you remember the small pond right behind Fluttermont?”</p><p>She took a shaky breath,” Yes.”</p><p>“Do you think you could go to it right now?”</p><p>A beat of silence, she still hadn’t looked up,”Yes.”</p><p>“Ok.” Linhs voice was slightly distant, but Marella didn’t think about it as she carefully removed her head from between her knees, wiping her eyes again and standing from her bed on shaky legs.<br/>
She wrapped a cloak around her pajamas, slipping on some boots and turning back to her imparter.</p><p>The screen was black.</p><p>Slight panic clawed at her stomach before Linhs words repeated in her mind.</p><p>
  <em>Do you remember the small pond right behind Fluttermont?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Do you think you could go to it right now?</em>
</p><p>Marella took a deep breath, leaving her room and creeping past her parent's room. Her father was out for council work, and wouldn’t be back till the next day, so she slipped out with relative ease.<br/>
The chilly breeze hit her cheeks as she slipped out the back door, making her eyes flutter close.</p><p>After a moment she descended down the hill.</p><p>Her tears dried against her skin as she approached the pond, her breath catching as a figure turned.</p><p>She was at Linh’s side in an instant, her hands coming to rest around the girl's waist, her head burning.</p><p>Soft hands covered her head, pushing her gently into Linhs chest.</p><p>They rocked slowly, neither of them saying anything.</p><p>The only sounds heard were Marella's quiet sobs and Linh’s evened breaths.</p><p>The silver-haired girl leaned down, her chin resting on top of Marella's as they slowed, her hands gently combing through the blonde's braided hair.</p><p>“Thank you,” Marella whispered</p><p>Linh laughed softly, kissing the top of Marella's head slowly,” You don’t need to thank me,” she replied,” I love you, and I will do anything for you as long as you are still by my side.”</p><p>Marella felt more tears building, but they were different, they were <em>cool</em>.</p><p>Her anchor hugged Marella tighter, and Marella craned her head up, kissing her softly.</p><p>Linh smiled into the kiss, breaking them apart to gently wipe away the smaller girl's tears.</p><p>Marella leaned into her hand, her eyes closing.</p><p>“I love you too.”</p>
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